Scope Articles

Tackling loneliness will be a bellwether for Covid-19 recovery

25 Mar 2021

New research from the Red Cross lays bare how, for many people, coronavirus has led to loneliness. The root causes cut across every aspect of the pandemic.

The more we know about mental health, the better

28 Oct 2020

New research into the general mental health of young people in NI could be transformative for policy makers - and for community and voluntary organisations providing services to local children.

Younger voices feel sidelined during the pandemic

Ardoyne Youth Enterprise is running a writing competition for young people. There are many ways to get young people engaged with the world around them - and to have their voice heard.

22 Sep 2020

An NI Youth Forum survey asked young people about their experiences of, and thoughts about, lockdown. It highlights concerns about mental health and education – and about not being listened to.

Education relies on pupils’ mental health

11 Aug 2020

Local children will soon be back at school. Catching up on education is vital – but so is pupils’ mental health. Scope looks at a new report from Barnardo’s NI that gathered evidence from teachers and other education staff.

Northern Ireland is failing children with special educational needs

2 Jul 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention away from the ongoing crisis of SEN provision in the education system. There is no easy fix.

Childcare is infrastructure - investment is essential

25 Jun 2020

The Executive has plenty on its plate but now is the time to look at childcare in Northern Ireland.

Now is the time to take on loneliness

17 Jun 2020

Covid-19 risks an increase in loneliness. It also makes loneliness much more difficult to tackle. We have to think of ways to work against these problems – especially with Northern Ireland at risk of a coronavirus second wave.

To protect vulnerable people during the pandemic, massive change is possible

16 Apr 2020

Older people are perhaps affected more than any other group by Covid-19, directly and indirectly. Scope speaks with Age NI about the needs of our older population, and how they changed their service model almost overnight.

One of the worst consequences of lockdown is an increase in domestic abuse

7 Apr 2020

Frontline charity workers who work to tackle violence and other abusive behaviour in the home have been designated key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

Social security should be reasonable and sympathetic - but it is not

24 Mar 2020

Universal Credit administration takes a hard line, even with measures that are supposed to make allowances for people in difficulty. Work from Advice NI has exposed another fault line in the system, leaving vulnerable people in hardship.

A changing world is daunting for parents

26 Feb 2020

We look at Parenting NI’s second annual Big Parenting Survey, which explored concerns about tech – and asked parents about their hopes for their children.

Time to crack down on the gambling industry

21 Feb 2020

A consultation on reforming Northern Ireland’s hopelessly outdated gambling laws has just closed.

Homelessness is more than one issue

20 Nov 2019

Improvements in several areas are needed to tackle this multi-layered problem. Unfortunately, the absence of a government is a real obstacle.

Autism petition approaches 10,000 signatures

29 Aug 2019

Autism NI is calling for mandatory autism training for all teachers in Northern Ireland –organising a petition they will present at Stormont next month. Scope speaks with CEO Kerry Boyd.

Poverty is bad for you

Photo by Anton Darius | @theSollers on Unsplash

1 Aug 2019

Northern Ireland has startling gaps in life expectancy between rich and poor areas. Scope looks at the latest figures from the Department of Health.

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